Did You Miss Us?

 

Sorry I missed sending a post last week. I don't know if we never had a P-day or if everyday was a P-day for the last 2 weeks. We enjoyed visits from family back to back, but still managed to keep up with much of our missionary work. 

We were able to meet with employment services candidates on Tuesday July 25, in the Woodside center and on Wednesday the 26th we were scheduled to go to the El Salvador Consulate. We traveled to the airport to pick up our daughter Britta, her husband Clint, and son Calvin Wednesday evening.

The view from the sidewalk
into the door of the Consulate.

Photo from the website. The woman on the back
is a senior staff  member at the Consulate, and one
of our students.

We went to five museums and saw so much on Thursday the 27th with our family.

On Liberty Island with everyone.

Of course, we got permission to go to Liberty Island. Here we visited the museum.

On Ellis Island we found sister missionaries from
the New Jersey Mission. The Church has a Family
Search Library on the island where missionaries
serve.

Britta recognized the name on this sister's tag and
discovered that she is the daughter of Margo Kelly
Payton, formerly from our stake in Sparks, NV. Olivia 
emailed her mother to tell her of the random meeting
(if there is such a thing as random in this work).

There are some very interesting exhibits
in the Museum of the American Indian.

Orthodox Jewish men at the Jewish
Heritage Museum

Outside the café at the Jewish Heritage Museum
trees are planted to grow through holes bored
through very large rocks.

In front of one of the pools created where one of 
the World Trade Center towers was destroyed.

One of the whimsical statues outside
the Oculus near the 9/11 memorial

Inside the Oculus shopping center.

We were joined by Britta's other son, Dallin, for a couple of days and more tourist activities. On Saturday evening, he went back to Baltimore where he lives now.

In the Met Museum of Art hangs Washington
Crossing the Delaware.

Yep, Starry Night was on display in a
special Van Gogh exhibition.

The boys among the "girls" in the Egypt section.

Again, at the Historic Richmond Town on Staten
Island. This is a supervisor who demonstrated the
musket. He was well aware of Olivia's ancestors.

One of the most interesting sites in the Town is the
Cooper's shop. More of a finish woodworker, the
docent was very skilled and knowledgeable. 

A stop at the Harry Potter store where,
for as little as $40, you can get a broom
with foot peddles for stability and comfort.

All our visitors are required to take a trip to Sagamore
Hill, the home and farm of Theodore Roosevelt.

At the Fire Island lighthouse.

At the south end of Central Park is the
golden statue of William Tecumseh
Sherman. 

Across the street from the temple at
Lincoln Center.

New York loves Teddy Roosevelt. Here he is in
the American Natural History Museum

Entering Yankee Stadium a couple of famous
bobbleheads. Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, I think.

Somewhere out there is a baseball diamond.

On Sunday we invited our guests to observe the
evening devotional and see how our missionaries
did on their six Key Indicators of Conversion.
Baptisms, Baptismal Dates, Sacrament Attendance,
New People (who have agreed to a lesson), Recent
Converts (attending Sacrament Meetings), 
Members Participating (as lessons are taught). All
are companionship weekly averages except
baptisms.

We were able to help serve the young
missionaries in the zone conference 
before going to the El Salvador
Consulate, and then out to the airport
for the next visitors.

Our son, Cedric, and two of his children, Baxter and Maggie, joined us on Wednesday night and we were able to spend some time with them. We were getting behind on some of our work, so Friday, while they went to the Natural History and Art Museums, we made our way over to the Lincoln Center church building and prepared for our next English Connect class, caught up on some reporting and sent out messages to employment candidates and others. We spent Thursday and Saturday with them, entirely, however.

Maggie expressed her joy at seeing the
50th Anniversary quilt our children did
for us, while Cedric visits with some
Quilt blocks.

Baxter with one of many super items at FAO 
Schwartz, the oldest toy store in the USA.

At the Lego Store - three floors of
creativity.

Another amazing meal and museum at Frauncis
Tavern, where Washington hosted his officers
in an emotional tribute following the
Revolutionary War.

A mandatory stop at the Nintendo Store.

Seeing the Statue of Liberty from the
Staten Island Ferry.

The National Lighthouse Museum
on Staten Island.

You have to stand in a long line to get a picture
with the animals on this bicycle built for 11.
Maggie and Olivia thought it worth the wait.

 

A quick trip (on the tram) from Manhattan to 
Roosevelt Island.

Maggie with a cut-away of the lighthouse
so you can see the stairs inside,
in the Visitors' Center on Fire Island.

We were finally able to get into the
museum at Fire Island. 

Maggie was my student in the 
Theodore Roosevelt Museum at 
Sagamore Hill.

An old-fashioned stile over the fence from one
field to the other on Sagamore Hill.

Baxter and Maggie racing the Slinkys
down all six stories of our apartment bldg.

Sadly, at 5:30 AM Sunday, they were ready to
fly home to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

We had a wonderful Sunday. Following the trip to the airport, we went home, showered and dressed for church. We went to the Brooklyn 4th Ward. It turns out that the building is where the original Brooklyn Ward met. Now there is a Brooklyn Stake and 9 wards/branches (including a Haitian-Creole branch, a Chinese branch and three Spanish wards). Originally, the building was a Methodist church and much of the interior has been retained, including the pipe organ (though it is not played - a new organ has been installed).

Olivia took this picture after the testimony meeting,
and before setting up for Sunday School.

We had a nice talk with a lady from
Argentina, whose husband carved this
sometime after his baptism. She was
disappointed that they had painted it,
because it was a special wood he had 
used. She lives alone now that he
has passed away, so this is special for her.

The exterior doors seem to be
original, as well.

A street view of the building and an
addition added sometime ago.

We came home and caught a well-deserved nap and began preparation for a more productive week. Our weather has been almost perfect for our visitors, if a little humid. It is a nice time of year in the City and we are happy to be engaged in the work of gathering and retaining Israel.  We wish the rest of Cedric's family (Sarah and Scout) safety and joy as they fly out of Idaho to be together again. We hope your week is awesome.